X-Message-Number: 24086 From: "Mark Plus" <> Subject: Arizona paper joins fight for documents on frozen Splinter Date: Mon, 10 May 2004 08:42:39 -0700 http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=22269 Arizona paper joins fight for documents on frozen Splinter By Tom Farmer Monday, May 10, 2004 An Arizona newspaper has joined the daughter of Ted Williams in a court battle to view documents held by a cryonics lab where Williams has been frozen to determine if he legally consented to have his remains stored at the controversial facility. The Arizona Republic filed a motion late last week in Arizona Superior Court to unseal documents filed by Alcor Life Extension Foundation in response to a civil suit filed by Williams' daughter, Bobby Jo Ferrell, seeking to force Alcor to produce documentation proving that her father's remains were legally given to the Scottsdale cryonics lab. ``They claim to be in compliance with the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act but they want to hide everything they've done and they want to hide everything in the court file,'' Ferrell's attorney, John Heer, said of Alcor yesterday. Ferrell has long wanted to claim her father's remains and have him cremated based on his original will, but the Splendid Splinter's body went to Alcor after his death in 2002. Ferrell's half-brother, John Henry Williams, who died of leukemia in March, reportedly obtained his father's approval to be placed at Alcor after his death. John Henry's will states that his remains be kept at Alcor. Although Ferrell gave up her right to claim her father's remains as part of a $215,000 settlement with his Florida estate, Heer is seeking to examine her father's contract with Alcor to see if it conforms with the Anatomical Gift Act. If Heer can prove Ted Williams was sent to Alcor without his written permission, he hopes to circumvent Ferrell's agreement with her father's estate and lay claim to the baseball Hall of Famer's remains. Attorneys for Alcor have filed their responses and an affidavit opposing Ferrell's motion under seal. The Republic, citing public access laws, has joined Heer's effort to have the Alcor court filings unsealed. ``Alcor has taken steps that are absolutely unheard of to seal the entire court file,'' said Heer. ``This is not your normal court situation so it's going to be interesting to see what happens. Stay tuned.'' _________________________________________________________________ Best Restaurant Giveaway Ever! Vote for your favorites for a chance to win $1 million! http://local.msn.com/special/giveaway.asp Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=24086